Rajasthan dust storm claims 19 lives, over 60 injured

Jaipur: The death toll due to the dust storm in Rajasthan has risen to 19 and over 60 people have been injured in related incidents. Those dead in the state included five women and two girls, police said.

The severe storm which generated over Bikaner region and advanced to Nagaur, Jodhpur, Jaipur, Alwar, Bharatpur, Sawaimadhopur and nearby regions also uprooted many trees and damaged several houses on Wednesday.

The worst affected was Bharatpur where five persons were killed and over 50 injured. More than 50 houses also got damaged due to the strong winds in villages of the district, police said.

Five persons each in Dholpur and Sawaimadhopur, two each in Bikaner and Bundi, one each in Baran and Nagaur districts were also killed in separate incidents and most of them were cases of wall collapse.

Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje has announced a compensation of Rs 4 lakh for the affected families.

The powerful storm, which swept through most parts of Rajasthan, also brought down the day temperature in many areas of the desert state by few notches. It reduced visibility for over an hour and traffic on roads and highway was also affected, police said.